Music Industry Thought of the Night: Earlier this evening, I was subjected to a little American Idol and it seems that standards of talent have depreciated immensely over the shows long history; and ratings attest to this statement with an increasing loss of interest among television viewers. I like to think that I have good ears and can gauge talent fairly well having spent a long time in the music industry as not only a touring artist, but as record label A&R and a guy behind the scenes for a few major projects; however, I feel like Im taking crazy pills when I hear multiple mediocre vocalists being praised by a very successful panel of judges. Im certain its just for television; and both financially and statistically one can see that all of the vocal-contest franchises do not exist to find talent, but to make money for the network...which is understandable. While some talented singers and artists do make there way to such shows, its sad to see what the music industry has become. If you disagree...How often do you really enjoy hearing a new artist on the radio? How often do you purchase music instead of using a streaming service? How often do you go out to watch a talented unsigned band at a local venue? Whatever your answers are, Im sure each is less often than yesterday and they will be even less often tomorrow. There is unfortunately no such thing as an artist anymore (in terms of monetary success). Mainstream musical success only rests within the realm of celebrity. An artist must ironically find opportunities in film, television, print, commercial, and other forms of media just to find moderate success in selling music. This is one of the reasons why RIAA-certified platinum albums do not exist anymore and why many ex winners on shows like The Voice and American Idol cant sell more than a few thousand records anymore (with a few exceptions). Its an interesting industry with a very outdated business model to build thriving careers for artists, and unfortunately I and many music industry veterans foresee it only getting worse for talented singers, songwriters, and musicians. To Artists: I only wish the best for you and your dreams of success. Just know that such success loosely depends on a lengthy list of circumstances, with many blanks left for unknowns as the industry changes daily. Talent, good songwriting, a great band, a few show dates, and an awesome demo CD wont do it alone anymore. And thats all I have to say about that... :P
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 08:08:27 +0000
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